I intentionally changed the subject line !

On Wed, 19 Aug 1998, Jarvis, Robert P. wrote:

> I'd say that a "private" method is one which is a part of the internal
> implementation of a class and is subject to change or removal
> without notice at the whim of the implementer.

 Hidden methods could be useful not just for private methods (in the sense
of the above), but also for auxiliary methods. 

 An auxiliary method, although it's not subject to change or removal, is
possibly still a good candidate to be hidden, so that it looks like the
class implements fewer methods.